May Tech Review - Google Earth

In my technology briefings that I do across the country I feature a host of Google products including Google Earth and ask the rhetorical question... "how do these guys make money?" For a company that has stock price that continually flirts the with the number "400" ($400 dollars this is) I'm amazed that everything it puts out is FREE (and in beta too.)

Google Earth is a cool product that's for sure, but it has a number of great business applications too. For example, I was offered an opportunity to rent a beach house in the San Diego this summer. Let's just change the word rent for the word BUY... Okay, I have a real estate deal (I can use the word buy and deal now - for all you Results team members) to invest in some beach front property in Imperial Beach just south of Coronado Island. Sounds great.

However, I've spent A LOT of time in San Diego and don't recall ever sun tanning on Imperial Beach. So I grab a map and find out that Imperial Beach is the southern most beach in the continental US... only 3.5 miles from Tijuana, Mexico. That seemed a little scary to me considering I have little ones that will be running around the place. So I checked out Google Earth and here is what I saw...

Amazing. I saw beach and that was enough for me! Actually with a few zoom features and measuring tools I found out the place was only a few miles from the Hotel Del Coronado. With neighbors like that, the location can't be that bad.

So I'm only renting... maybe some day I'll have a home on the beach. Google Earth is a great tool for anyone in the real estate industry or anyone who is interested in real estate investing.

There are some great tools in this program too. You can lay in roadways, borders, eaterys, banks etc. Directions and measurements are easy in Google Earth. You have to use this program to experience the coolest feature... "flying" from one destination to another. Try this, start at the White House and then fly to Buckingham Palace... You'll move across the Atlantic Oceans in seconds and be staring down at the Queen before you can say "Fish and Chips."

Check it out. I'll be featuring a number of Google freebies this month.

TK